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85-617: While most atolls of the Gilbert Islands correspond to local government areas governed by island councils, Tabiteuea, like the main atoll Tarawa , is divided into two: "Tabiteuea" is Gilbertese for "no chief allowed"; the island is traditionally egalitarian and is known for its huge maneaba . On 1 July 1799, Charles Bishop and George Bass entered in the lagoon of Tabiteuea and many canoes visited his brig Nautilus . Bishop called it Bishop’s Island, and called Aanikai , Drummond’s Island. The Battle of Drummond's Island occurred during

170-518: A religious war when the populace of North Tabiteuea, partly converted to Christianity and, led by a Hawaiian pastor called Kapu who had assembled a "hymn-singing army on a crusade ", invaded and conquered South Tabiteuea, where was recently (1860) created a cult of Tioba (Jehovah). Bishop Octave Terrienne built his main Catholic Church in Tanaeang , North Tabiteuea in 1936 and established there

255-480: A 50–50 chance that they would need to wade ashore, but the attack was not delayed until more favorable spring tides. The supporting naval bombardment lifted, and the Marines started their attack from the lagoon at 09:00, thirty minutes later than expected, but found the tide had not risen enough to allow their shallow draft Higgins boats to clear the reef. Only the tracked LVT "Alligators" were able to get across. With

340-456: A battle in depth across the interior. The interior structures were large and vented but did not have firing ports. Defenders were limited to firing from the doorways. The Japanese worked intensively for nearly a year to fortify the island. To aid the garrison in the construction of the defenses, the 1,247 men of the 111th Pioneers, similar to the Seabees of the U.S. Navy, along with the 970 men of

425-587: A garrison force, and the unit's identification was changed to the 3rd Special Base Defense Force. Tomonari's primary goal in the Japanese defensive scheme was to stop the attackers in the water or pin them on the beaches. A tremendous number of pillboxes and firing pits were constructed, with excellent fields of fire over the water and sandy shore. In the interior of the island was the command post and several large shelters designed to protect defenders from air attack and bombardment. The island's defenses were not set up for

510-513: A more lightly defended section of Green Beach. This impromptu unit was later referred to as "Ryan's Orphans". Ryan, who had been thought to be dead, arranged for naval gunfire and mounted an attack that cleared the island's western end. The communication lines that the Japanese installed on the island had been laid shallow and were destroyed in the naval bombardment, effectively preventing commander Keiji Shibazaki from exercising direct control of his troops. In mid-afternoon, he and his staff abandoned

595-415: A sleeping mat twenty-five years later, described the situation: "In those days death was on the right hand and on the left. If we wandered north, we were killed or raped. If we wandered south, we were killed or raped. If we returned alive from walking abroad, our husbands themselves killed us, for they said that we had gone forth seeking to be raped. That was indeed just, for a woman who disobeys her husband

680-413: A total of about 35,000 troops. As the invasion flotilla hove to in the predawn hours, the island's four 8-inch guns opened fire. A gunnery duel developed as the main batteries on the battleships USS  Colorado and USS  Maryland commenced counter-battery fire. This proved effective, with several of the 16-inch shells finding their marks. One shell penetrated the ammunition storage for one of

765-543: Is a woman of no account, and it matters not how she dies. Yet how beautiful is life in our villages, now that there is no killing and war is no more... Behold my son and my grandson! These would have died with me that day at Nea if the warship had not arrived. And these"-she pointed out her great and great-great-grandchildren-"would never have been born. We live because the Government of Kuini Kabitoria brought peace to us, and here I sit plaiting this mat to be buried in because of

850-635: Is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati , in the Micronesia region of the central Pacific Ocean. It comprises North Tarawa , which has 6,629 inhabitants and much in common with other more remote islands of the Gilbert group , and South Tarawa , which has 56,388 inhabitants as of 2015 , half of the country's total population. The atoll was the site of the Battle of Tarawa during World War II . Tarawa

935-567: Is an old Gilbertese form for Te Rawa , meaning "The Passage" (of the Lagoon), named for the unusual large ship channel to the lagoon. In the popular etymology based on Kiribati mythology , Nareau , the God-spider, distinguished Karawa , the sky, from Marawa , the Sea, from Tarawa , the land. Tarawa has a large lagoon , 500 square kilometres (193 square miles) in total area, and a wide reef. The lagoon

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1020-586: Is narrow, being only 800 yards (730 m) wide at its widest point. A long pier was constructed jutting out from the north shore, onto which cargo ships could unload while anchored beyond the 500-metre (550 yd)-wide shallow reef which surrounded the island. The northern coast of the island faces into the lagoon, while the southern and western sides face the deep waters of the open ocean. Following Colonel Evans Carlson 's diversionary raid on Makin Island in August 1942,

1105-414: Is widely open to the ocean, with a large ship pass. Although naturally abundant in fish and shellfish of all kinds, marine resources are being strained by the large and growing population. Drought is frequent, but in normal years rainfall is sufficient to maintain breadfruit , papaya and banana trees as well as coconut and pandanus . North Tarawa consists of a string of islets from Buariki in

1190-418: The 6th Marine Regiment were ordered to land on Bairiki to seal off the retreat path. They formed up, including tanks and pack artillery, and were able to start their landings at 16:55. They received machine gun fire, so aircraft were sent in to try to locate the guns and suppress them. The force landed with no further fire, and it was later found that only a single pillbox with 12 machine guns had been set up by

1275-520: The Confederate States Navy steamer CSS Shenandoah visited the island on March 23, 1865 in search of United States whalers , but the whalers had fled the area. Captain James Waddell described the islanders as "of copper colour, short of statue, athletic in form, intelligent and docile" and were "without a stitch of clothing". In the late 1800s, the two parts of the island were the site of

1360-541: The Russo-Japanese War from the British , were secured in concrete bunkers around the island to guard the open water approaches. It was thought these big guns would make it very difficult for a landing force to enter the lagoon and attack the island from the north side. The island had 500 pillboxes or "stockades" built from logs and sand, many of which were reinforced with cement. Forty artillery pieces were scattered around

1445-643: The United States Exploring Expedition in April 1841 at Tabiteuea, then known as Drummond's Island. After one sailor from sloop USS Peacock , was missing without reason, the US party decided on exacting redress for the incident. Twelve islanders were killed in the fighting and others were wounded. Utiroa village with more than 1,000 inhabitants, was burned and erased. During the American Civil War ,

1530-695: The United States Marine Corps . The losses on Tarawa were incurred within 76 hours. To set up forward air bases capable of supporting operations across the Central Pacific, to the Philippines , and toward Japan itself, the U.S. planned to take the Mariana Islands . The Marianas were heavily defended. Naval doctrine of the time held that in order for amphibious landings to succeed, land-based aircraft would be required to weaken defenses and protect

1615-441: The 3,636 Japanese in the garrison, only one officer and sixteen enlisted men survived. Of the 1,200 Korean laborers brought to Tarawa to construct the defenses, only 129 survived. All told, 4,690 of the island's defenders were killed. The 2nd Marine Division suffered 894 killed in action, 48 officers and 846 enlisted men, while an additional 84 wounded later succumbed, 8 officers and 76 enlisted men. A further 2,188 men were wounded in

1700-602: The Fourth Fleet's construction battalion, were brought in. Approximately 1,200 of the men in these two groups were Korean laborers . The garrison was made up of forces of the Imperial Japanese Navy . The Special Naval Landing Force was the marine component of the IJN and were known by U.S. intelligence to be more highly trained, better disciplined, more tenacious and to have better small unit leadership than comparable units of

1785-574: The Gilbertese) are still excellent seafarers, capable of making ocean crossings in locally made vessels using traditional navigation techniques. Thomas Gilbert , captain of the East India Company vessel Charlotte , was the first European to describe Tarawa, arriving on 20 June 1788. He did not land. He named it Matthew Island, after the owner of his ship Charlotte . He named the lagoon Charlotte Bay. Gilbert's 1788 sketches survive. The island

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1870-550: The Gilberts was the largest yet assembled for a single operation in the Pacific, consisting of 17 aircraft carriers (6 fleet aircraft carriers , 5 light aircraft carriers , and 6 escort carriers ), 12 battleships , 8 heavy cruisers , 4 light cruisers , 66 destroyers , and 36 transport ships. On board the transports were the 2nd Marine Division and the Army's 27th Infantry Division , for

1955-503: The Imperial Japanese Army. The 3rd Special Base Defense Force assigned to Tarawa had a strength of 1,112 men. They were reinforced by the 7th Sasebo Special Naval Landing Force, with a strength of 1,497 men. It was commanded by Commander Takeo Sugai. This unit was bolstered by 14 Type 95 light tanks under the command of Ensign Ohtani. A series of 14 coastal defense guns, including four large Vickers 8-inch guns purchased during

2040-856: The Island. The Kiribati Government began a road restoration project funded in part by the World Bank in 2014 to re-surface the main road from Betio in the west to Bonriki in the east, upgrading the main road that transits Tarawa from a dirt road. As of 2018, all that remained to be completed of this project was the sealing of the Japanese Causeway, connecting Bairiki and Betio, done in 2019. Battle of Tarawa 1°25′37″N 172°58′32″E  /  1.42694°N 172.97556°E  / 1.42694; 172.97556 V Amphibious Corps Garrison Force : U.S. Navy: 1 destroyer damaged by coastal guns 4,690 killed (including both construction laborers and Japanese soldiers) , The Battle of Tarawa

2125-451: The Japanese command was made aware of the vulnerability and strategic significance of the Gilbert Islands. The 6th Yokosuka Special Naval Landing Force reinforced the island in February 1943. In command was Rear Admiral Tomonari Saichirō (友成 佐市郎), an experienced engineer who directed the construction of the sophisticated defensive structures on Betio. Upon their arrival, the 6th Yokosuka became

2210-410: The Japanese pocket that still existed between beaches Red 1 and Red 2. This pocket had been resisting the advance of the Marines landing on Red 1 and Red 2 since D-day, and they had not yet been able to move against it. 1/8 advanced on the pocket from the east (Red 2) while 3/2 advanced from the west (Red 1). Major Hewitt Adams led an infantry platoon supported by two pack howitzers from the lagoon into

2295-416: The Japanese position. At this point L Company made up the entire front across the now 200 yards (180 m) wide island, while I Company reduced the Japanese strong point with the support of the tank Colorado and attached demolition/flame thrower teams provided by the engineers. As I Company closed in, the Japanese broke from cover and attempted to retreat down a narrow defile. Alerted to the attempted retreat,

2380-427: The Japanese positions to complete the encirclement. By noon the pocket had been reduced. On the eastern end of the island L Company continued to advance, bypassing pockets of resistance and leaving them to be cleared out by tanks, engineers and air support. By 13:00 they had reached the eastern tip of Betio. 3/6 killed roughly 475 Japanese soldiers on the morning of 23 November while losing 9 killed and 25 wounded. Back at

2465-479: The Japanese positions. Fifteen minutes later the Navy kicked off the last part of the bombardment with a further 15 minutes of shelling. At 08:00 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines (3/6) under the command of Lieutenant Colonel McLeod attacked, Jones' 1/6 having been pulled off the line after suffering 45 killed and 128 wounded in the previous night's fighting. Due to the narrowing nature of the island, I and L Companies of 3/6 formed

2550-480: The LVTs were knocked out of action by the end of the first day. Colonel David M. Shoup , commander of the 2nd Marine Regiment , was the senior officer of the landed forces, and he assumed command of all landed Marines upon getting ashore. Although wounded by an exploding shell soon after landing at the pier, Shoup had the pier cleared of Japanese snipers and rallied the first wave of Marines who had become pinned down behind

2635-411: The Marines had brought up their own heavy machine guns, and the Japanese posts were put out of action. By the early afternoon they had crossed the airstrip and had occupied abandoned defensive works on the south side. Around 12:30 a message arrived that some of the defenders were making their way across the sandbars from the extreme eastern end of the islet to Bairiki , the next islet over. Portions of

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2720-829: The Marshalls might well result in heavier losses. "We must steel ourselves now to pay that price." Writing after the war, Smith, who in his biography was highly critical of the Navy, commented: Was Tarawa worth it? My answer is unqualified: No. From the very beginning the decision of the Joint Chiefs to seize Tarawa was a mistake and from their initial mistake grew the terrible drama of errors, errors of omission rather than commission, resulting in these needless casualties. Some commanders involved, including Nimitz, Admiral Raymond A. Spruance , Lieutenant General Julian C. Smith and Lieutenant Colonel David M. Shoup , disagreed with General Smith. Said Nimitz: The capture of Tarawa knocked down

2805-603: The Red 1/Red 2 pocket there was no accurate count of Japanese dead. There were an estimated 1,000 Japanese alive and fighting on the night of 22 November, 500 on the morning of 23 November and only 50–100 left when the island was declared secure at 13:30 on 23 November. For the next several days the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines moved up through the remaining islands in the atoll and cleared the area of Japanese, completing this on 28 November. The 2nd Marine Division started shipping out soon after and were completely withdrawn by early 1944. Of

2890-469: The airfield aprons. A separate group had moved across the airfield and set up a perimeter on the southern side, up against Black 2. The groups were not in contact with each other, with a gap of over 500 yards (460 m) between the forces at Red 1/Green and Red 2, and the lines on the northern side inland from Red 2/Red 3 were not continuous. The third day of battle consisted primarily of consolidating existing lines along Red 1 and 2, an eastward thrust from

2975-521: The annual average is 3,000 mm (120 in) in the north and 500 mm (20 in) in the south of the Gilbert Islands. Most of these islands are in the dry belt of the equatorial oceanic climatic zone and experience prolonged droughts. Tarawa atoll has three administrative subdivisions: Betio Town Council (or BTC), on Betio Islet; Teinainano Urban Council  [ it ] (or TUC), from Bairiki to Tanaea; and Eutan Tarawa Council (or ETC), for North Tarawa or Tarawa Ieta , consisting of all

3060-561: The atoll of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands . Thus, in order to eventually launch an invasion of the Marianas, American strategists believed that the Japanese garrison and airfield on Tarawa would first need to be neutralized. Following the completion of the Guadalcanal campaign , the 2nd Marine Division had been withdrawn to New Zealand for rest and recuperation. Losses were replaced, and

3145-637: The atoll. The Marines captured the island after 76 hours of intense fighting that killed 6,000 people in total. The fierce fighting was the subject of a documentary film produced by the Combat Photographers of the Second Marine Division entitled With the Marines at Tarawa . It was released in March 1944 at the insistence of President Roosevelt . It became the first time many Americans viewed American servicemen dead on film. . The US built bases on

3230-468: The attack but only after calling artillery to within 75 meters of their own lines. When the assault ended about an hour later there were 200 dead Japanese soldiers in the Marine front lines and another 125 beyond their lines. At 07:00 Navy fighters and dive bombers started softening up the Japanese positions on the eastern tip of the island. After 30 minutes of air attack the pack howitzers of 1/10 opened up on

3315-487: The battle, 102 officers and 2,086 men. Of the roughly 12,000 2nd Marine Division Marines on Tarawa, 3,166 officers and men became casualties. Nearly all of these casualties were suffered in the 76 hours between the landing at 09:10 on 20 November and the island of Betio being declared secure at 13:30 23 November. The heavy casualties suffered by the United States at Tarawa sparked public protest, where headline reports of

3400-412: The battle. Those LVTs that did make it in proved unable to clear the sea wall, leaving the men in the first assault waves pinned down against the log wall along the beach. Several LVTs went back out to the reef in an attempt to carry in the men who were stuck there, but most of these were too badly holed to remain seaworthy, leaving the Marines stuck on the reef some 500 yards (460 m) off shore. Half of

3485-426: The beach but were knocked out of action fairly quickly. The battalion commander of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Regiment found several LCMs near the reef and ordered them to land their Sherman tanks and head to Red Beach 2. The LCMs dropped ramps and the six tanks came down, climbed over the reef and dropped into the surf beyond. They were guided in to shore by Marines on foot, but several of these tanks fell into holes caused by

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3570-420: The command post at the northeast end of the airfield to allow it to be used to shelter and care for the wounded, and he prepared to move to the south side of the island. He had ordered two of his Type 95 light tanks to act as protective cover for the move, but a 5-inch naval artillery shell exploded in the midst of his headquarters personnel as they were assembled outside the central concrete command post, killing

3655-423: The commander and most of his staff. This loss further complicated Japanese command problems. As night fell on the first day, the Japanese defenders kept up sporadic harassing fire but did not launch an attack on the Marines clinging to their beachhead and the territory won in the day's hard fighting. With Shibazaki killed and their communication lines torn up, each Japanese unit had been acting in isolation since

3740-503: The commander of the Colorado tank fired in enfilade at the line of fleeing soldiers. The near total destruction of the Japanese soldiers' bodies made it impossible to know how many men were killed by this single shot, but it was estimated that 50 to 75 men perished. While L Company advanced down the eastern end of the island, Major Schoettel's 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines (3/2) and Major Hay's 1st Battalion, 8th Marines (1/8) were cleaning out

3825-415: The destroyers Schroeder and Sigsbee , the Marines killed 325 Japanese attackers. At 04:00 the Japanese attacked Major Jones' 1st Battalion, 6th Marines in force. Roughly 300 Japanese troops launched a banzai charge into the lines of A and B Companies. Receiving support from 1st Battalion, 10th Marines ' 75mm pack howitzers and the destroyers Schroeder and Sigsbee , the Marines were able to beat back

3910-599: The elementary school. The area junior high school is Takoronga School in Terikiai , and the area senior high school is Tabiteuea North Senior Secondary School a.k.a. Teabike College in Eita . Students from Bangai may attend either Nukantewaa School or Ueen Maungan te Raoi School; Bangai does not have enough residents, so the Kiribati authorities do not operate a school there. There are two domestic airports: Tarawa Tarawa

3995-480: The entire Marine front with K Company in reserve. The Marines advanced quickly against the few Japanese left alive on the eastern tip of Betio. They had two Sherman tanks named Colorado and China Gal, 5 light tanks in support and engineers in direct support. I and L Companies advanced 350 yards (320 m) before experiencing any serious resistance in the form of connected bunkers on I Company's front. McLeod ordered L Company to continue their advance, thereby bypassing

4080-437: The far west of the island, Red Beach 2 in the center just west of the pier, and Red Beach 3 to the east of the pier. Green Beach was a contingency landing beach on the western shoreline and was used for landings on 21 November. Black Beaches 1 and 2 made up the southern shore of the island and were not used. The airstrip, running roughly east–west, divided the island into north and south. Marine Corps battle planners had expected

4165-402: The first day, of the 5,000 Marines put ashore, 1,500 were casualties, either dead or wounded. With the Marines holding a thin line on the island, they were commanded to attack Red Beach 2 and 3 and push inward and divide the Japanese defenders into two sections, expanding the bulge near the airfield until it reached the southern shore. Those forces on Red 1 were directed to secure Green Beach for

4250-459: The first line of defenses. The arrival of the tanks started the line moving on Red 3 and the end of Red 2 (the right flank, as viewed from the north), and by nightfall the line was about half-way across the island, only a short distance from the main runway. Major Michael P. Ryan , a company commander, had gathered together remnants of his company with Marines and sailors from other landing waves, as well as two Sherman tanks, and had diverted them to

4335-439: The forces that had been assumed to be escaping. They had a small tank of gasoline in their pillbox, and when it was hit with fire from the aircraft the entire force was burned. Later, other units of the 6th Marine Regiment were landed unopposed on Green Beach, north (near Red Beach 1). By the end of the day, the entire western end of the island was in U.S. control, as well as a fairly continuous line between Red 2 and Red 3 around

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4420-414: The guns, setting off a huge explosion as the ordnance went up in a massive fireball. Three of the four guns were knocked out in short order. One continued its intermittent, though inaccurate, fire through the second day. The damage to the big guns left the approach to the lagoon open. Following the gunnery duel and an air attack of the island at 06:10, the naval bombardment of the island began in earnest and

4505-466: The high commissions of Australia and New Zealand. The United Nations are also present in Kiribati, including UNICEF , UNDP , UNFPA , UNOPS , UN Women , WHO and FAO . In Kiribati mythology, Tarawa was the earth when the land, ocean and sky had not been cleaved yet by Nareau the spider. Thus, after calling the sky karawa and the ocean marawa , he called the piece of rock that Riiki (another god that Nareau found) had stood upon when he lifted up

4590-508: The high losses could not be understood for such a small and seemingly unimportant island. The public reaction was aggravated by the unguardedly frank comments of some of the Marine Corps command. General Holland Smith , commander of the V Amphibious Corps who had toured the beaches after the battle, likened the losses to Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg . Admiral Chester Nimitz was inundated with angry letters from families of men killed on

4675-472: The invasion forces on the islands being invaded. The nearest islands capable of supporting such an American effort on the Marianas were the Marshall Islands . Taking the Marshalls would provide the base needed to launch an offensive on the Marianas, but the Marshalls were cut off from direct communications with Hawaii by a Japanese garrison and air base on the small island of Betio , on the western side of

4760-408: The island in various reinforced firing pits. An airfield was cut into the bush straight down the center of the island. Trenches connected all points of the island, allowing troops to move under cover when necessary to wherever they were needed. As the command believed their coastal guns would protect the approaches into the lagoon, an attack on the island was anticipated to come from the open waters of

4845-472: The island. Back in Washington, newly appointed Marine Corps Commandant Alexander Vandegrift , the widely respected and highly decorated veteran of Guadalcanal , reassured Congress, pointing out that "Tarawa was an assault from beginning to end". A New York Times editorial on 27 December 1943 praised the Marines for overcoming Tarawa's rugged defenses and fanatical garrison and warned that future assaults in

4930-660: The islets on the east side from Buota northwards. The meaning of Te inainano in Gilbertese language is "down of the mast", alluding to the sail-shape of the atoll South Tarawa hosts the capital of the Republic of Kiribati and was also the central headquarters of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands since 1895. The House of Assembly is in Ambo, and the State House is in Bairiki . The offices of

5015-522: The kindness of that woman, with all my generations around me to wrap me in it when I die." The aftermath of land claims and counter-claims between Auatubu and Teabike nevertheless caused high tension for years afterwards. Charles Richard Swayne , the first Resident Commissioner , decided to install the central headquarters of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands protectorate in Tarawa in 1895. Tarawa Post Office opened on 1 January 1911. Sir Arthur Grimble

5100-453: The lagoon, and to the Saida Maru (斉田丸), a wrecked Japanese steamship lying west of the main pier. They waited for dawn, when they intended to fire on U.S. forces from behind. Lacking central direction, the Japanese were unable to coordinate for a counterattack against the toehold the Marines held on the island. The feared counterattack never came, and the Marines held their ground. By the end of

5185-399: The landing of reinforcements. Green Beach made up the entire western end of the island. The effort to take Green Beach initially met with heavy resistance. Naval gunfire was called in to reduce the pillboxes and gun emplacements barring the way. Inching their way forward, artillery spotters were able to direct naval gunfire directly upon the machine gun posts and remaining strong points. With

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5270-416: The limited protection of the sea wall. Over the next two days, working without rest and under constant withering enemy fire, he directed attacks against strongly defended Japanese positions, pushing forward despite daunting defensive obstructions and heavy fire. Throughout, Shoup was repeatedly exposed to Japanese small arms and artillery fire, inspiring the forces under his command. For his actions on Betio, he

5355-431: The major obstacles reduced, the Marines were able to take the positions in about an hour of combat with relatively few losses. Operations along Red 2 and Red 3 were considerably more difficult. During the night the defenders had set up several new machine gun posts between the closest approach of the forces from the two beaches, and fire from those machine gun nests cut off the Marines from each other for some time. By noon

5440-548: The men were given a chance to recover from malaria and other illnesses that had weakened them during the fighting in the Solomons. On 20 July 1943, the Joint Chiefs of Staff directed Admiral Chester W. Nimitz to prepare plans for an offensive operation in the Gilbert Islands. In August, Admiral Raymond A. Spruance flew to New Zealand to meet with the new commander of the 2nd Marine Division, General Julian C. Smith , and initiate

5525-403: The naval gunfire bombardment and sank. The surviving Shermans on the western end of the island proved considerably more effective than the lighter Stuarts. They helped push the line in to about 300 yards (270 m) from shore. One became stuck in a tank trap, and another was knocked out by a magnetic mine . The remaining tank took a shell hit to its barrel and had its 75 mm gun disabled. It

5610-558: The normal rising tide to provide a water depth of 5 feet (1.5 m) over the reef, allowing their 4 feet (1.2 m) draft Higgins boats room to spare. However, on this day and the next, the ocean experienced a neap tide and failed to rise. In the words of some observers, "the ocean just sat there", leaving a mean depth of 3 feet (0.91 m) over the reef. A New Zealand Army liaison officer, Major Frank Holland, had 15 years' experience on Tarawa and warned that there would be at most 3 feet depth. Shoup warned his Marines that there would be

5695-406: The north to Buota in the south. The islets are separated in places by wide channels that are best crossed at low tide, and there is a ferry service between Buota and Abatao. Only Buota is connected by road to South Tarawa, via a bridge. On South Tarawa , the construction of causeways has now created a single strip of land from Betio in the west to Tanaea in the northeast. Previously, Benito,

5780-447: The offensive. At 12:30 they pressed the Japanese forces across the southern coast of the island. By late afternoon they had reached the eastern end of the airfield and had formed a continuous line with the forces that landed on Red 3 two days earlier. By the evening the remaining Japanese forces were either pushed back into the tiny amount of land to the east of the airstrip, or operating in several isolated pockets near Red 1/Red 2 and near

5865-508: The pause in the naval bombardment, those Japanese who had survived the shelling were again able to man their firing pits. Japanese troops from the southern beaches were shifted up to the northern beaches. As the LVTs made their way over the reef and into the shallows, the number of Japanese troops in the firing pits slowly began to increase, and the volume of combined arms fire the LVTs faced gradually intensified. The LVTs had holes punched through their non-armored hulls, and many were knocked out of

5950-469: The planning of the invasion with the division's commanders. Located about 2,400 miles (3,900 km) southwest of Pearl Harbor , Betio is the largest island in the Tarawa Atoll. The small, flat island lies at the southernmost reach of the lagoon and was the base of the majority of the Japanese troops. Shaped roughly like a long, thin triangle, the tiny island is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) long. It

6035-654: The see of his apostolic vicariate of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands . Tabiteuea Post Office opened around 1911 and was renamed Tabiteuea North around 1972. Tabiteuea South Post Office opened on 13 September 1965. There is a government high school, Tabiteuea North Senior Secondary School , also known as Teabike College . Located in Eita , it serves the entire island. There is also a government junior high school, Takoronga School in Terikiai , serving all of Tab North. The elementary schools on Tab North are all government schools. They include: Taunibong School in Buota serves as

6120-493: The site of the battle of Tarawa , was only 291 acres in size. Tarawa features a tropical rainforest climate under the Köppen climate classification . The climate is pleasant from April to October, with predominant northeastern winds and stable temperatures close to 30 °C (86 °F). From November to March, western gales bring rain and occasional cyclones . Precipitation varies significantly between islands. For example,

6205-460: The sky as, Tarawa . Nareau then created the rest of the islands in Kiribati and also Samoa. Gilbertese arrived at these islands thousands of years ago, and there have been migrations to and from Gilbert Islands since antiquity. Evidence from a range of sources, including carbon dating and DNA analyses, confirms that the exploration of the Pacific included settlement of the Gilbert Islands by around 200 BC. The people of Tungaru (native name of

6290-405: The start of the naval bombardment. The Marines brought a battery of 75 mm pack howitzers ashore, unpacked them and set them up for action for the next day's fight, but most of the second wave was unable to land. They spent the night floating in the lagoon without food or water, trying to sleep in their Higgins boats. During the night, some Japanese marines swam to some of the wrecked LVTs in

6375-417: The various ministries of the government range from Betio at the south-west extreme to Nawerewere (on an easterly island in its chain), close to Bonriki (International Airport) and Temwaiku . Settlements on North Tarawa include Buariki , Abaokoro , Marenanuka and Taborio . Four resident diplomatic missions exist: the embassies of China (closed in 2003, re-opened in 2020) and Japan (opened in 2023), and

6460-456: The western edge of the airstrip. That night the Japanese forces formed up for a counterattack, which started at about 19:30. Small units were sent in to infiltrate the U.S. lines in preparation for a full-scale assault. The assembling forces were broken up by concentrated artillery fire, and the assault never took place. A large banzai charge was made at 03:00 and met with some success, killing 45 Americans and wounding 128. With support from

6545-776: The western or southern beaches. Rear Admiral Keiji Shibazaki , an experienced combat officer from the campaigns in China, relieved Tomonari on 20 July 1943 in anticipation of the coming fight. Shibazaki continued the defensive preparations right up to the day of the invasion. He encouraged his troops, saying "it would take one million men one hundred years" to conquer Tarawa. United States Fifth Fleet Admiral Raymond A. Spruance in heavy cruiser Indianapolis [REDACTED] V Amphibious Corps Major General Holland M. "Howlin' Mad" Smith , USMC Gilbert Islands defense forces Rear Adm. Keiji Shibasaki (KIA 20 Nov) Approx. 5,000 total men under arms The American invasion force to

6630-454: The wharf, and moving additional heavy equipment and tanks ashore onto Green Beach at 08:00. During the morning the forces originally landed on Red 1 made some progress towards Red 2 but took casualties. Meanwhile, the 6th Marines which had landed on Green Beach to the south of Red 1 formed up while the remaining battalion of the 6th landed. By the afternoon the 1st Battalion, 6th Marines (1/6) were sufficiently organized and equipped to take to

6715-560: Was a cadet administrative officer based at Tarawa (1913–1919). He became Resident Commissioner of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony in 1926. During World War II , Tarawa was occupied by the Japanese , and beginning on 20 November 1943 it was the scene of the bloody Battle of Tarawa . On that day U.S. Marines landed on Tarawa and fought Japanese Marines of the Special Naval Landing Forces occupying entrenched positions on

6800-491: Was awarded the Medal of Honor . Early attempts to land tanks for close support and to get past the sea wall failed when the LCM landing craft (LCM) carrying them hung up behind the reef. Some of these craft were hit out in the lagoon while they waited to move in to the beach and either sank outright or had to withdraw while taking on water. Two Stuart tanks were landed on the east end of

6885-491: Was fought on 20–23 November 1943 between the United States and Japan on Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands , and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts. Nearly 6,400 Japanese , Koreans , and Americans died during the battle, mostly on and around the small island of Betio , in the extreme southwest of Tarawa Atoll. At the time, Betio was only 118 hectares (290 acres). The Battle of Tarawa

6970-598: Was surveyed in 1841 by the US Exploring Expedition . For nine generations, the island was divided between two warring factions, the House of Auatubu and the House of Teabike, until in 1892 HMS Royalist (1883) arrived, with Captain Edward Davis proclaiming that the island was now a British Protectorate . This saved Auatubu from massacre; the day before, they had been badly defeated by Teabike. A very old lady, plaiting

7055-412: Was sustained for the next three hours. Two minesweepers, with two destroyers to provide covering fire, entered the lagoon in the pre-dawn hours and cleared the shallows of mines. A guide light from one of the minesweepers then guided the landing craft into the lagoon, where they awaited the end of the bombardment. The plan was to land Marines on the north beaches, divided into three sections: Red Beach 1 on

7140-466: Was the first American offensive in the critical Central Pacific region. It was also the first time in the Pacific War that the United States faced serious Japanese opposition to an amphibious landing . Previous landings had met little to no initial resistance, but on Tarawa the 4,500 Japanese defenders were well supplied and well prepared, and they fought almost to the last man, exacting a heavy toll on

7225-424: Was used as a portable machine gun pillbox for the rest of the day. A third platoon was able to land all four of its tanks on Red 3 around noon and operated them successfully for much of the day, but by day's end only one tank was still in action. By noon the Marines had successfully taken the beach as far as the first line of Japanese defenses. By 15:30 the line had moved inland in places but was still generally along

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